


Expedient

by pouncy (manywaters)



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-05
Updated: 2009-12-05
Packaged: 2017-10-04 04:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manywaters/pseuds/pouncy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remix of the job interview from "The Ticket".  In which Donna is feisty, Josh is embarassed, and Matt Santos is amused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Expedient

**Author's Note:**

> Not mine, concieved of solely for my own entertainment and peace of mind. I make no money off this. If I did, I'd have more than Season 1 on DVD. Everything belongs to NBC and whoever Wells and Sorkin produce for.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**Current mood:** |   
creative  
---|---  
**Current music:** | Tori Amos - I Don't Like Mondays  
  
_ **J/D FF: Expedient (TEEN)** _

Author: Pouncy  
E-mail address: pouncykitten@livejournal.com  
Title: Expedient  
Character: Josh, Donna

Category: Romance  
Pairing: Josh/Donna  
Rating: TEEN, language  
Summary: Remix of the job interview from "The Ticket". In which Donna is feisty, Josh is embarassed, and Matt Santos is amused.  
Author's Notes: Not mine, concieved of solely for my own entertainment and peace of mind. I make no money off this. If I did, I'd have more than Season 1 on DVD. Everything belongs to NBC and whoever Wells and Sorkin produce for.  
\---  


"It's mutual." There, it was out there. Sometimes this thing she had with Josh felt like a big invisible yeti in the middle of the room.

"You worked for Russell, Donna!"

"And I did a good job, too."

He scrubbed his face with his hands and wearily admitted, "Yeah, you did. But I won. And I can't hire somebody that said these things-" Stopping at the look on her face, he was surprised by the ferocity of her words.

"Bullshit, Josh. You know it was the job, and so does everyone out there that's got you scared senseless. You *taught* me the job, so why are you surprised I went for the jugular? I'm valuable, Josh. I've got two Bartlet campaigns under my belt, eight years of riding herd on you, and you're going to hire me for this job, because I'm the only person that won't kill you or quit!"

"Donna-"

She rocketed out of her chair without noticing. "Don't "Donna" me, Joshua. You're going to hire me, you're going to ask me to dinner, you're going to have salad at dinner, you're going to consider kissing me at the end of the night, and we're going to get Matt Santos elected President."

"And how does one not conflict with the other? Because right now, I'm thinking that hiring a deputy and dating her is definitely a conflict of interest, let alone something I have time for in a campaign. Really, explain this to me, because I've been trying to figure that out for the last eight years, and if you've figured this out, I'm all ears!"

"You're all mouth is what you are, and if you didn't think that there's a particular order to things, you could have just asked me out in the first campaign before you hired me and saved us all the goddamn trouble of Mandy and Amy."

"Look who'd talking! You've got some nerve marching in here and demanding a job and yelling at me and starting a fight!" He paused. "A fight. Yelling. Oh, god."

They turned and looked out the window into the main room. The majority of the staffers, Leo, and the Congressman were standing outside or looking at the window. The normally loud and frenetic staff pit had hushed to a dull thrum, and assorted staffers looked either amused or annoyed. Looking at each other, they shared a moment of embarassment and dread, Donna blushing and Josh looking chagrined and ruffling his hair.

Josh sighed. "So, um, yeah."

Leo rolled his eyes, walked over and opened the door. "Josh, for the love of God, will you ask her out already? We've got a campaign to run here, and I don't know if I can do eight more years of this."

Looking at Donna, Josh croaked out, "So you wanna go to dinner tonight? I think I'll get out of here about eleven."

"Yes, Josh. I'd like that." The sunny smile he was rewarded with helped erase the pit of fear in his stomach.

Relieved, he smiled at her. "Now about that job."

Congressman Santos leaned into the door. "She's hired. You two lovebirds have a meeting with Ops in ten minutes. Hi Donna, I'm Matt. Thanks for coming aboard." He shut the door and left them alone.


End file.
